PREFRONTAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO MEMORY IN THE YOUNG AND OLD

该项目的目标是从认知和神经方面更精确地描述短期记忆或工作记忆（WM; Baddeley，1986）以及事件记忆或情景记忆（Tulving，1972）中涉及的过程。 虽然工作记忆和情景记忆通常是分开讨论的，但研究人员越来越多地认为，共同的认知过程（称为执行功能）有助于工作记忆和情景记忆的表现。 不幸的是，尽管研究人员已经提出了几个模型来说明这些执行功能可能是什么，以及它们如何参与WM和情景记忆，但对这些功能的皮层网络的识别仍然落后。 现有的证据表明，前额叶皮层（PFC）的区域特别参与这些功能。 例如，WM的神经影像学研究表明，PFC的腹侧区域参与保持意识中的表征“在线”（主动维持），而背侧区域更多地参与对这些主动表征的操作（操纵）。 虽然这些发现是从WM的研究中出现的，但同样的机制也可能有助于编码和提取事件的特定感知细节，这些细节有助于确定情景记忆的来源（例如，确定事件发生的时间、地点和方式，区分感知事件与思想和心理图像）。 因此，编码和检索这种来源指定的信息可能需要执行功能，有助于工作记忆和情节记忆。

The goal of the proposed project is to more precisely characterize, cognitively and neurally, processes involved in short-term, or working memory (WM; Baddeley, 1986), and memory for events, or episodic memory (Tulving, 1972). Although WM and episodic memory are typically discussed separately, there is a growing consensus among researchers that common cognitive processes, referred to as executive functions, contribute to both WM and episodic memory performance. Unfortunately, although researchers have proposed several models to specify what these executive functions might be and how they are involved in WM and episodic memory, identification of the cortical networks subserving these functions has lagged behind. Available evidence indicates that regions of prefrontal cortex (PFC) are particularly involved in these functions. For example, neuroimaging studies of WM suggest that whereas ventral regions of PFC are involved in keeping representations "on-line" in consciousness (active maintenance), dorsal regions are more involved in performing operations upon these active representations (manipulation). Although these finding have emerged from studies of WM, it is possible that the same mechanisms also contribute to the encoding and retrieval of specific perceptual details of events that are useful for determining the source of an episodic memory (e.g., determining when, where, and how an event took place, differentiating perceived events from thoughts and mental images). Thus, encoding and retrieval of this source-specifying information may require executive functions that contribute to both WM and episodic memory.